Being one of the most diversified economies, Qatar serves as a home to millions of expats. The platform opens a number of gateways for business options that make it one of the most thriving business locations, and the free zones in Qatar leverage the opportunities to a great extent. Just like QSTP free zone, Qatar has come up with QFC, that is ideally located for any business be it a start-up or an existing one. This free zone is dedicated to uplift the finance sector that would ultimately boost the nation’s growth. This has made the process of setting up a business in Qatar easier for the business entities related to finance. Now, let’s have a look at the business activities that can be carried out in the free zones.
Business Activities in QFC Free Zone
In QFC, the following regulated business activities are permitted:
- Banking
- Asset Management
- Insurance/ Reinsurance
- Captives
- Islamic Finance
- Investment Advice and Services
- Brokerage
The QFC free zone also deals with the following non-regulated activities:
- Services that deals with Professional, corporate and business
- Treasury functions, company headquarters, and management offices
- Special-purpose companies
- Holding companies
- Trust and its related services
- Single-family offices
Now, let’s have a look at the advantages of establishing a business entity in QFC.
Advantages of Setting Up a Company in QFC
- 100% foreign ownership
- 100% repatriation of capitals and profits
- 10% corporate tax
- One-stop shop for the establishment, licenses, support activities
- English common law
- No currency restrictions
How to Set Up a Business in QFC?
In order to incorporate a business in QFC, all you need to do is go through the following steps.
1.Apply for License
In the very first step, you need to apply for a license by filing the appropriate form. The form is easily accessible at the QFCRA website.
2.Provide business background
Once you have applied, you need to provide a brief history regarding your business and what it is all about.
3.Submit the essentials
Next, you need to submit the completed form to the QFC Authority who will initiate the process of inspection regarding the application filed.
4.Obtain License
Once reviewed and approved by the authorities, you can proceed toward obtaining the license. For that, an application to the company registration office needs to be submitted stating the type of corporate structure you wish to establish.
Pre-Requisites to Conduct Regulated Activities
In order to conduct regulated activities, all you need to do is stated below:
- Apply for a license from the QFC Authorities
- Applicants seeking authorisations to perform the supervised activities need to provide the following information:
- General information about the firm
- Description of the proposed business
- Details of the firm’s compliance arrangements
- Information on the firm’s IT systems
- Details regarding business continuity plans
All the points mentioned above give complete information to the business setup process in QFC. One of the easiest ways that any foreign business investor opts for is to hire a business consultant, the reason being to ease the process of understanding the Qatari law and abide by the rules accordingly in a hassle-free way. We at Xcellence strives to deliver the same. A team of professional experts who is well-versed with the legal laws will help you in the process of establishing your business entity in QFC. Our experts will understand your business needs and cater to them accordingly. To have a word, do contact us today-we’d be glad to assist.
